At www.dorkbot.org It says there’s one on they way, but I’m going to look in to it further. If anyone would be interested in this please let me know so I know if it would be worth the trouble. Thanks!Here’s some info from their site:dorkbot: people doing strange things with electricityWhat is dorkbot, exactly?: Each dorkbot is different and is driven by the needs and interests of people in the local community. But generally, the main goals of dorkbot are: to create an informal, friendly environment in which people can talk about the work they’re doing and to foster discussion about that work; to help bring together people from different backgrounds who are interested in similar things; to give us all an opportunity to see the strange things our neighbors are doing with electricity. dorkbot isn’t really a forum for formal artist talks or lectures, but rather a chance for diverse people to have friendly conversations about interesting ideas.$$$: dorkbot is a non-$-oriented organization. dorkbot meetings are generally free events, so you need to be careful about spending lots of money to produce them! Several dorkbots sell beer and/or food at the meetings to help cover their costs. Make sure you talk to the venue before selling anything. dorkbot.org donates web space, email lists, etc. to the local dorkbots, so there is no administrative cost associated with setting up a new dorkbot.Meeting Format: dorkbot meetings are rather informal. There are usually two or three presentations (about 20-30 minutes each) per meeting and sometimes very short “lightening” presentations from audience members. The specific format is up to each organizer to decide. You’ll probably have to play with your format for a few meetings until you find something that works well in your context. One thing to keep in mind is that the dorkbot format works best for informal, conversational presentations on a particular work or topic, rather than formal artist talks or lectures on a body of work. 30 minutes isn’t much time, so focused presentations work best.

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2 thoughts on “Thinking about starting a Phoenix Area dorkbot group”

I would love for there to be a dorkbot group in the Phoenix area! I just found out about it from my Halloween phenatics at Frightfest Northwest (http://www.frightfestnorthwest.com/) and was hoping to find one out here in AZ. Sadly there still isn't one setup, but I would do whatever needed to be done to help it come along.

I've read a couple of your blog entries from Craftzine and noticedthat in the past you were influential in getting the Phoenix DIY grouptogether. I was hoping that I might be able to get you interested inand possibly help us spread the word about a group we're starting.Our goal is to have a permanent work space for members to be able towork on all sorts of DIY hacking projects whether it be: electronics,crafts, software, metal works, wood works, whatever. A few friendsand I have been throwing around the idea for about 2 years untilrecently when we starting hearing of other spaces with similarconcepts popping up around the country. We decided it was definitelytime for us to join in on the fun. If you haven't heard of theHackerSpace concept the following site has plenty of information aboutit:

We want our place to be somewhere where people can share tools, space,and knowledge/expertise to aid them in finishing up any projects theymay have. We also wanted to build a community where people can joinand contribute to a project that may be on going.

1. The Hacker Space idea, what it means to us and the fun that can be had.2. What direction we intend to go with the group.3. Getting started on finding a location to lease/purchase for the HackerSpace.4. A couple current projects.5. A means to collaborate on projects while looking for a space.6. Poll for contacts for legal(non-profit) and accounting expertise.

Snacks, drinks and good company will be provided! We'd love to seeyou there as well as anyone you think would be interested in the idea.

If you have any questions in the mean time feel free to forward themto myself or: